


Faster Than a Terrified Chameleon

by Lidsworth



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fluff, Humor, Poor Maedhros, Shenanigans, but the twins need entertainment, he just needs a hug, i need a break from angst, kids being kids, the twins driving maedhros up the wall, they want to turn him as red as his hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:45:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7638949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lidsworth/pseuds/Lidsworth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a while, there was silence amongst the three elves. Then it was Elros who spoke first, pointing a shaky finger at his brother, who still held on to Maedhros’s hair with a vice grip.<br/>“I…I think you killed him…” Elros muttered, now pointing at the motionless elf, “He’s not moving! What are we going to do! Maedhros, oh Maedhros please don’t be dead! Please wake up! We were just trying to have fun!” </p><p>or</p><p>While Maglor is away, Elrond and Elros entertain themselves by antagonizing Maedhros.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faster Than a Terrified Chameleon

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: children being awful. 
> 
> I need a break from the angsty stuff i'm about to post later on.  
> Based on one of my headcanons, where the twins want to turn Maedhros as red as his hair. You can find more of my hc on my tumblr -> inkstranger.tumblr.com  
> As always, mind my spelling and grammar!

In comparison to Maglor, Maedhros was quite the boring elf. So much so, that the twins absolutely dreaded being left alone in his presence, and more than often had resorted to throwing their arms around Maglor’s legs and sitting on his feet whenever he had spontaneously decided to leave their abode in order to prevent him from doing so.

At times, their antics had indeed triggered Maglor’s separation anxiety, causing him to forgo his initial task for quality time with the twins. Eventually, however, their games became habitual, and Maglor had taken to leaving quickly in the middle of the night. More than once, though, the twins had caught him in the act of escape, and had thrown themselves onto the ground to stop him.

Unfortunately, today was not one of those days. He had played with the twins all evening, and consequently tired them out. As a result, they had not managed to thwart his escape, and woke to the news of his departure.  

The absence of Maglor brought with it a silent house devoid of music and singing. Rather, Elrond and Elros sat on a tiny desk reading boring books next to Maedhros, who sat on larger desk reading an even more boring book.

The twins hated reading with Maedhros. They would much rather sing and dance with their other father. But Maedhros claimed that the world had no use for illiterate elfings who knew not a thing of elven history or language, and for the first time in forever, Maglor had betrayed the twins and agreed with his brother.

He was a boring elf who did boring things, which was alright when he didn’t force the twins to do the same.

The only thing remotely exciting about him had to be his odd appearance - and even its allure wore off after a while.

Well all except his hair. No elf that either twin had seen before bore such an insane shade of hair, and it had forever been the subject of their many late night discussions.

How had his hair come to be (And if Maglor was his brother, than why was his hair not red? Certainly all brothers looked alike, the twins could testify to that. So perhaps Maglor had adopted Maedhros too)? Was this its natural color? Were there other odd red hairs on his body?

Could other parts of him become red? Well that answer was quite obvious. His entire face tended to turn scarlet whenever Maglor spoke.

It was always quite entertaining to the twins when Maedhros turned colors faster than a terrified chameleon.

Especially Elros. Smirking mischievously, he got a rather entertaining idea.

Elros kicked the bottom of Elrond’s chair lightly, causing his younger brother to scowl and turn his glare towards him.  Elros opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as Maedhros shifted above them. Both twins held their breath, waiting for the snide, “No one is making you read. If you want to be dumb, then by all means kicks each other’s chairs”, remark to follow his movements.

However, his ears only twitched slightly, and that was all. No use in setting Maedhros off yet, not when Elros hadn’t even done what he wanted to do.

With a sigh of relief, Elros began to write.

 _It’s funny when he gets angry and he turns red like his hair,_ wrote Elros on the upper corner of his book page, so that Elrond could read it, _we should make him do that._

Elrond tilted his head curiously as he read the note, and scribbled on his book: _How? Ada isn’t here to talk. He’s the only one who can make him change colors. What could we do?_

Elros sighed defeated. What _could_ they do?

Then Elros saw it. A lock of red hanging idly beside the old elf’s waist. It glimmered in the light like pure fire, and Elros felt _so_ compelled to touch it. He was close enough anyway. No doubt that would agitate him. Not enough to upset him, no, but enough to get a reaction. And all of his reactions were quite funny when he wasn’t being sarcastic or snarky (but it was always 50/50 with Maedhros, so Elros hoped for the best).

 _Watch this,_ mouthed Elros, as he leaned forward and tugged at the strand.

Unyielding in his reading, Maedhros spoke, “I wasn’t aware that you wanted to be a hairdresser, Elros. But with your short attention span and refusal to learn anything, you might as well be. It’s easy enough for you. ”

Elros retracted his hand like it was on fire, and returned to his book with the look of pure dejection. Maedhros didn’t even look at him! Not once. Instead, he had done the exact opposite and managed to deeply insult Elros’s and his intelligence. It wasn’t his fault the books were boring. It wasn’t his fault he was too little to understand anything, or that Maedhros’s taste in life was dryer than a desert.

 

Sensing his twin’s surrender and shame, Elrond took it upon himself to lean over Elros, and take Maedhros’s hair in his own hand.

“Oh, it’s Elrond now, is it,” Maedhros commented as he turned his page, “I suppose you could open a family barb—“

Elrond pulled harder on that lock of hair than he had pulled on anything in his life, sending Maedhros’s head slamming into the desk with a loud “thud”. He jumped slightly, not completely aware of his own strength.

Truly, neither was Maedhros, for the force of Elrond’s actions had knocked him clean out.

For a while, there was silence amongst the three elves. It was Elros who spoke first, pointing a shaky finger at his brother, who still held on to Maedhros’s hair with a vice grip.

“I…I think you killed him…” Elros muttered, pointing at the motionless elf, “He’s not moving! What are we going to do! Maedhros, oh Maedhros please don’t be dead! Please wake up! We were just trying to have fun!”

Elros was hysterical now. They hadn’t even been under the brother’s care for two years, and they had managed to kill one of them.

Elrond paled, too terrified to even move. Had he really killed Maedhros? Was this how Maedhros the Tall was to meet his end? What would Maglor think? What would he say? He would fade! Fade from grief and leave the twins all alone!  
  
Just as Elrond was about to succumbed to tears, the old elf raised his head slowly, eyes ablaze and face very, _very_ red. He looked angrier than they had ever seen him before! In fact, he was redder than his hair! He was redder than fire!

Without thinking, Elrond yanked down once more.

This time Maedhros hit the desk again, but had half the mind to prepare himself for the impact, thus lessening the force. However, as a result, his pens and ink went rolling on the smooth wood, making a mess everywhere they want. Wanting to spare his boring books and documents the worse of the ink, Maedhros reached out to grab what he could.

Only to realize that he had reached with his stump. Ink spilled everywhere just as he caught his mistake, and his documents were soaked in dark ink.

Unable to hold back their glee, the twins erupted into a fit of laughter. How funny it looked, to reach for objects with a stump and not his working hand. Certainly he was delirious from his injury.

He stood quickly, reaching for the objects that were sure to roll off of the desk. Still grabbing onto his hair, Elrond swung freely as Maedhros reached full height, and hit the desk himself as Maedhros leaned over it.

Seeing as his father needed a hand, Elrond gladly volunteered himself.

“I’ve got them! I’ve got them!” Elrond shouted as he climbed on the desk, running through the ink and tracking tiny foot prints over what remaining clean documents there were.

If Maedhros was red moments ago, he was dark blue now. There was a blood vessel on his head sure to explode, and his eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of their sockets.

He really looked like a chameleon now.

The twin’s lips quivered and their eyes watered. But before they could laugh, Maedhros erupted like a volcano. Why, it seemed as if he would shoot right out of the ceiling.  

He spoke nothing but Quenya, and while the twins were not familiar with the language, they had a good idea of what he was saying.

Moments later, the twins hopped into their beds. Somewhat ashamed of their actions (they had made Maedhros cry in frustration), they formulated an apology for later. Though neither could deny the entertainment provided by their father.

Not only could he turn red, but he could turn purple, blue _and_ green!

Next time, they would turn him all the colors of the rainbow.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, i needed to write something funny and cute! Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
